India retains Harmanpreet as captain for Asiad despite debacle in WC

Harmanpreet Kaur was on Tuesday retained as captain of a largely predictable 15-member India squad for this year’s Asian Games in Japan despite the side’s earlier-than-expected exit from the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England.  The Asian Games is scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. The Indian team’s World Cup campaign ended on Sunday after a group-stage loss to Australia.

The team will enter the Asian Games as defending champions, having won the gold medal at the event’s previous edition in Hangzhou, China, in 2023.

Both men’s and women’s cricket competition at the Asian Games is played in the T20 format.

Smriti Mandhana will continue to be Harmanpreet’s deputy. The 37-year-old Harmanpreet, under whom India won the women’s ODI World Cup last year, is facing criticism for the underwhelming show in England. 

Wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia is the only player to be dropped from the World Cup squad and in her place, G Kamalini has been drafted into the side.

All-rounder Shreyanka Patil, who was ruled out with an ankle injury in the middle of the World Cup, has been included in the squad but her availability will be subject to fitness clearance.

Harmanpreet will be supported in the batting lineup by Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh, while the bowling responsibilities will largely be shouldered by Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy and Nandni Sharma.

During an erratic World Cup campaign, the Indians fell well short of expectations. They registered comfortable wins over relatively weaker Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands, but losses to South Africa and Australia put paid to their hopes. The team, despite the group stage exit, has qualified for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as the highest-placed Asian team in the competition.